No more 12-hour shifts!

So I have officially worked my last 12-hour shift before the baby comes. Our unit always does 12s on the weekends, thereby making it possible to only have to work every third weekend instead of every other weekend, like many of the other floors at the hospital. I finally complained loudly enough for the unit coordinator to decide that I could leave after ONLY 8 hours on my final two weekends to work... woo hoo!

I have long since felt that back-to-back 12-hour shifts don't allow your body enough time to recuperate before demanding your presence and full attention once again. Think about it, when working 7-7:30, you arrive at work at, say, 6:45, and you leave at, say, 7:45.... so you've already really pulled a 13 hour shift, and you'll be back in 11. That doesn't allow for driving and the necessary unwinding before sleep. (And that's assuming that you got out at a reasonable time.) It's almost insane to ask anybody's body to do this; my pregnant body was just really protesting. As I walked up the four flights of stairs to my unit yesterday morning, I realized by the weight of (and lack of energy in) my legs that I had not yet recovered from the previous day's long haul, and here I was to work another.

Kudos to one Amy Keller for pulling 12s all the time - I just can't do it anymore. :)

Oh, and FORTY-SEVEN DAYS till I go out on maternity leave. Not that anyone's counting.